Garment-fitting device.



zwawm G. H. SMOOT.

GARMENT FITTING DEVICE. APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 26, 1909.

1,087,992. I Patented Feb.'24, 1914.

THi. Fig.4. 7 I

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WITNESSES CHARLES 1-]. 5114057 $1 I By ATTORNE Y8 CHARLES H. SMOOT, ornew YORK, n. Y., assrenon T0 RUTH BATTU, or new YORK, N. Y.

GARMENT-FITTING DEVICE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 24, 1914.

Application filed March 26, 1909. Serial No. 486,031.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, CHARLES HEAD SMOOT, acitizen of the United States, and residentof the borough of Manhattan,city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Garment-Fitting Devices, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to devices for facilitating the accurate fitting ofgarments.

In principle, my appliance comprises a series of flexible membersreadily adjustable to different positions so as to fit the personsfigure, and removable from the person without changing their adjustment.These flexible members are of a peculiar construction enabling'them tobe used as clamps or holders for the fabric, so that the same devicewhich has been adjusted to the persons figure, serves to determine theshape of the pieces of fabric composing the garment.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which- I Figure 1is a front elevation illustrating the use of my invention; Fig. 2 is afront elevation of one of the flexible members, drawn upon a largerscale; Fig. 3 shows a portion of the two front members and the bands ortapes connected therewith; Fig. 4: shows how the appliance is used inconnection with the fabric; Fig. 5 is a cross section on line 5-5 ofFig. 4 and Fig. 6 is a cross section on line 66 of Fig. 2.

Each of the flexible members comprises two flat pieces or strips A ofmetal or other flexible but practically inextensible material, thestrips diverging at least at one end (see particularly Figs. 4 and 6)but preferably at both ends, as indicated at A. The two strips areconnected and pressed strongly toward each other by means of suitablesprings, which I prefer to construct of triangular shape, with onemember B in the plane of the strips A, a second member B at an acuteangle thereto, and the third member B approximately perpendicular tosaid plane. The coiled portion B which gives the spring its chiefstrength, is located at one of the corners, preferably at the junctionof the members B, B It will be seen that the members B lie in thecontinuation of one of the flat strips A (to which strip they aresecured) and will bear against the garment of the person who-m it 1Sdesired to uisite flat position. secured to the companion strips A. Thusfit; the strips will thus be held in the req- The members B are the twostrips of each flexible member may be separated when desired, yet arepressed toward each other with considerable force so that they form astrong clamp.

Two of the flexible members (which I may call the front members sincethey are generally used'at the front) are provided with detachableconnecting means, which may be ordinary corset fasteners as indicated atC, C.

The several flexible members are connected adjustably by means oftransverse flexible but inextensible bands D which may he graduatedtapes of the kind used as tape measures. These tapes are fastenedpermanently to the rear central longitudinal clamping member and aregraduated both right and left from such member toward the front (seeFig. 3). These bands or tapes will generally be arranged at threedifferent heights or levels. To hold the tapes adjustably on theflexible members A, A, suitable clamps or retaining members E areprovided on said members, the tapes sliding lengthwise and being lockedwhen adjusted, by throwing the clamp levers down.

The number and length of the flexible members will vary with thecharacter of the garment to be produced, each flexible member beingintended to be placed where a seam occurs in the garment.

In using my invention, the clamps E are loosened so that the flexiblemembers may be brought to the proper distances from each other, and theentire appliance is placed on the person in the manner illustrated byFig. 1. The two front members are hooked together, and the other membersshifted to right or left, lengthwise of the bands D, until they occupypositions corresponding to the intended location of the seams. Then theclamps are operated to hold the bands and flexible members in theiradjusted positions. By unhooking the two front members, the appliancecan be released from the persons body without disturbing the adjustmentof the parts, that is, the distance between the members connected by thebands I). The appliance is then loaded with the fabric F (which may bethe main fabric of the garment or only the lining), the quantity offabric held between adjacent seamholders being determined by the lengthindicated by the longest of the three graduated tape lines.

In loading each of the flexible members or seam-holders, the materialmay be forced in with a knife by hand, or preferably by drawing thefabric over the edge of the bar G (Figs. l and 5), which is secured to aboard ll, or other suitable support. in this case one of the flexiblemembers, or seam-holders is forced down over the fabric and the edge ofthe bar G thus drawing into the jaws of the seam-holder a fold of thefabric. The diverging ends A facilitate this operation.

After all of the flexible members, or seamholders, have been filled witha fold of the fabric, the apparatus is again placed on the figure(person or form) to be fitted, the two front members hooked together,and with the fingers all surplus materialis drawn into the triangularclearance of the seamholders until between each two adjacentseam-holders the fabric lies close to the figure to be fitted and allwrinkles or other distortions have been removed. When this process hasbeen completed and the seams extending along the shoulders have beenpinned together in a proper location for a shoulder scam, I obtain aperfectly fitting garment, in which the sewed seams are replaced by theflexible seam-holders, which hold the cloth together.

After the above manipulation has been completed and the material moldedto fit the figure, the apparatus is removed as a jacket, by unhookingthe front members. This material may be pinned along the length of theedge of each of these holders. The seamholders are then removed and thematerial is sewed together along the lines originally determined by theseam-holders and located by the pins. The garment is then completed inso far as this appliance is concerned, for a perfectly fitting garmenthas been obtained and from here on it can be finished by ordinarymethods well known to the art.

It will be seen that the spirit of my invention lies in providing amechanical holder to act in place of a sewed seam, allowing adjustmentsand alteration in the position of the seam and also in the quantity ofthe fabric held by the mechanical means. These mechanical means have astheir function to hold the cloth after adjustment to a given positionand at the same time allow ready alteration of this position. It isobvious that these mechanical means may take many other forms withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

The strips A form means for connecting and keepin in alinement, a seriesof clamps or springs, and the strips may therefore be termed alinementmembers.

sections 1 refer not only to sections which may be separate and distinctbut to sections of fabric before they are cut apart.

Vx hile my method of fitting garments will generally be utilized byfirst cutting the fabric according to patterns of the usual type andapproximately to size, I may, witlr out departing from the spirit of myinvention, apply the method to an integral fabric not cut into sections.That is to say, I may conform the fabric to the body and shape it to theshape of a fitted garment without passing through the usual intermediatestep of cutting the fabric into separate sections according to anypattern.

I claim:

1. in a garment fitting device, a plurality of elongated clamps arrangedlengthwise of the body and adapted to be conformed thereto said clampsbeing further adapted to hold garment sections adjustably, andtransverse flexible tapes uniting said clamps.

2. In a garment fitting device, a plurality of elongated, clampsarranged lengthwise of the body and adapted to be conformed there tosaid clamps being further adapted to hold garment section-s adjustably,and transverse flexible tapes adjustably attached to and uniting saidclamps.

3. In a garment fitting device, an elongated clamp of inextensible butflexible material adapted to grasp a length of fabric and be conformedto body lines said clamp comprising two faced flexible members inconnection with means for pressing said members together.

4.. In a garment fitting device, an elongated clamp of inextensible butflexible ma terial adapted to grasp a length of fabric and conform tobody lines said clamp comprising two faced flexible members and a.

plurality of spaced springs for pressing said members together.

5. A garment fitting device adapted to shape and size garment sectionsupon the body said device comprising elongated clamps adapted toadjustably hold the sections at each vertical seam one of said seamsbeing provided with two clamps lying side by side removably lockedtogether, and transverse flexible tapes adjustably attached to anduniting said clamps.

(3. In a garment fitting device, a plurality of elongated clampsarranged lengthwise of the body and adapted to hold garment sectionsadjustably, each of said clamps being flexible in but a single plane andunyielding in all other planes, and transverse flexible tapes unitingsaid clamps.

7. In a garment fitting device, a plurality of elongated clampscomprising flat strips of inextensible material adapted to grasp alength of fabric said strips being flexible in Nhere in the claims Ihave used fabric 1 a plane normal to their surface and unyielding in allother planes, and transverse flexible tapes adjustably attached to anduniting said clamps.

8. A garment fitting device comprising a plurality of inextensibleelongated clamps each consisting of two faced strips held to gether byspring means and each being flexible in a plane normal to its surfacebut unyielding in all other planes, transverse flexible tapes foruniting said clamps, and retaining members attached to said clamps foradjustably holding said tapes.

9. A garment fitting device comprising a plurality of inextensibleelongated clamps each consisting of two faced strips held together byspring means and each being flexible in a plane normal to its surfacebut unyielding in all other planes, a plurality of transverse tapes atdifierent levels for uniting said clamps, and retaining members attachedto said clamps for adjustably holding said tapes.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

CHARLES H. SMOOT.

Witnesses JOHN LOTKA, JOHN A. KEHLENBEOK.

' Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner 0! Patents.

Washington, D. C."

